100 Ways to Use Beer in Food and Drinks

Editor’s Note: New contributor snebbu joins ES to bring us a very epic, very ES series.

I caught the brew bug. Yes, I’m addicted to brewing beer. With this comes a snooty attitude towards “big beer” and using my “well-earned money” to purchase craft beer. So after a few brews, my fridge is rapidly filling up with bottles of my homebrew, along with craft beer and of course, there’s always a case of Pennsylvania’s pride — Yuengling. The problem is, the other day I opened the fridge door and realized my collection of beer was overfilling its allotted space, and without some good use, would spoil in time. Of course, the first thing that came to mind was drinking it all in one grand night of sitting on my couch and watching sports until reaching a drunken stupor. Then I figured I could use this in food, while drinking beer!

My mind began to wander — what foods could I put beer in? Is it limited to food, or can I mix it with some tasty drinks? In my opinion, beer can make any situation better, provided you choose the right make and variety. I couldn’t get this wonderful idea of complementing dishes and drinks with beer out of my mind. Fortunately, I’m taking a graduate level class on diversity and had the resources (three hours worth of hearing “you’re blind to your blindness”) to put together a list. This list begins my journey to attempt to make each and every one of the following 100 food and drink items better…with beer.

Check out the list, and let us know what other items you’d like to see cooked with beer. Then bookmark this page and return to see the results of our attempts to cook all 100 items on this list…with beer! Of course, feel free to play along yourself, and report back with your results.

The Ground Rules:

*I noted my disgust for big beer — the only rule I am enforcing is to use either homebrew or a favorite craft brew. Drink Craft Beer.

**It is assumed that while cooking/concocting these creations, you will be drinking beer.

Mashed Potatoes: I’ve heard that some people actually put mayo in their mashed potatoes. To you I say: stop cooking. The rest of you: add some beer.

Potato Salad: Instead of buying that crap that’s drowning in mayo and water from the supermarket, make your own. Go moderate on the mayo and (maybe) the beer. Even if people don’t like it, they’ll be getting drunk anyway.

Coleslaw: Same premise as the potato salad. Even if you don’t want to try this…stop buying it from the super market!

Corned Beef and Cabbage: If you eat this anyway, you’re Celtic, so why the hell haven’t you been doing this to begin with?

Reuben: Soak the corned beef in a brew, then make me a sammich!

Lamb: Most people stuff it with so much crap to give it a taste anyway, why not give it the taste of a carbonated amber beverage?